"Tight formation flying often is required to obtain the aerial photos that accompany pilot reports," says author Barry Schiff of the photo shoot for the Lincoln PT-K (see " A Wing and a Prayer," page 66). "This works best when the photo airplane and the subject aircraft have similar performance." For this story, the photo platform, a Beech V35B Bonanza flown by John Deakin, and the biplane were such a mismatch that Deakin had to fly near the Bonanza's stall speed while Schiff tried to keep up in the Lincoln with full throttle. "Both of our engines kept overheating, his because of the power required to fly so slowly and mine because of the power required to keep up," Schiff says. Nor did it help that the two airplanes couldn't fly very high above the searing desert floor north of Las Vegas because of the Lincoln's poor climb capability. It was challenging, says the author, especially when flying the biplane on the outside of turns, which requires additional — and unavailable — airspeed.
"Pilots tend to lose sight of what makes every flight such a great adventure," says Greg Brown, aviation author and a columnist for AOPA Flight Training magazine. "Those everyday adventures are what interest me most." Accordingly, Brown rarely sets out looking for a story, but instead waits for them to happen in the course of normal flying. Brown's article, " Thunderstorms, Restricted Airspace, and a Dust Storm" (see page 119), resulted from a particularly trying flight dodging hazardous weather along the Mexican border. "Just before landing, I was astonished when another pilot radioed to say 'thanks,' having without my knowledge monitored my communications and followed us home." Says Brown, "Sometimes it's hard to appreciate that over years of flying you learn things that might benefit other pilots. When my actions inadvertently helped another pilot get home, I figured that our readers would appreciate the story too."
The general aviation aftermarket landscape is littered with all manner of snake-oil salesmen and voodoo priests, all of them making fabulous claims. One common promise is faster cruise speeds. Editor at Large Thomas A. Horne flew a 1976 Beechcraft A36 Bonanza fitted out with Atlantic Aero's Continental IO-550 engine upgrade — to see if the advertised speed gains rang true (see " Running Fast and Cool," page 105). The details of this modification are recounted in the story, but for the record, here are some numbers from a long, long cross-country flight from Greensboro, North Carolina, to Long Beach, California: At 8,000 feet and 10 degrees Celsius, 22 inches manifold pressure, and 2,550 rpm, burning 15.2 gph (this was rich of peak EGT, but a fuel burn of 14 gph was recorded at 50 degrees lean of peak) and with 1,432-degree Fahrenheit EGTs, 343-degree (on the hottest cylinder) CHTs, and 181-degree oil temperatures, true airspeed worked out to be 180 knots. Consistently along the entire route. No snake oil here.
Do Cessna 150s and 152s hold their value? Senior Editor Alton K. Marsh bought a new VFR-equipped Cessna 152 in late 1981 for $30,500. Today, according to the aircraft valuation service Vref, that 1982 airplane is worth $27,500 — close to its original price (see " Budget Buys: The Last Affordable Airplane?" page 80). Marsh found that operating costs haven't changed much, either. He estimated the operating costs for the average 152 owner in 1982, according to his owner records, at $23 per hour, including maintenance, insurance, loan interest, fuel and oil, tiedown fees, and property taxes. Two flight schools estimated that the average pilot should expect to pay $35 per hour to operate a 152 today.
